5 Little Known Benefits of Exercise

Most of us are well aware that regular physical activity is important to keep our weight down and help protect our health. But beyond the obvious, there are several little known benefits of exercise that can unexpectedly improve your quality of life…

1. Boost your mood. If you’re feeling down in the dumps, the last thing you may want to do is take a jog around the block. But that may be exactly what you need to relieve stress and improve your mood. Even a brisk walk for 30 minutes can work wonders. Regular physical activity stimulates chemicals in the brain that make you feel happy and relaxed. Exercise will also boost confidence so that you feel better about your appearance and improve your self-esteem as a result.
2. Have more energy. Yet again, working out made be the last thing on your mind if you haven’t gotten enough sleep and are dragging at work all day long. But instead of relying on caffeine to get you by, start out the day with exercise or squeeze in a workout on your lunch break to boost your energy levels. Exercising on a regular basis will deliver oxygen and nutrients efficiently to your body tissue so that you have more energy for everyday activities.
3. Burn calories while watching TV. Adding weight training to your regular workout routine will build lean muscle mass. And muscle burns more calories than fat while at rest. So after a long day of work, you can curl up on the couch and watch your favorite TV show, resting assured that you are burning more calories at rest because of strength training.
4. Improve your sleep. If you find yourself tossing and turning every night and waking up feeling groggy, a regular workout routine could change this dramatically. Exercising in the morning helps to set your body clock for the day. This will help you to feel energized in the daytime and naturally tired at night to make it easier to hit the hay. Just make sure not to exercise too close to bedtime, or it will have the opposite effect. Exercising right before bed will stimulate your cardiovascular system and give you energy, making it difficult to fall asleep.
5. Improve wound healing. And by wound healing, this isn’t just referring to a cut or a scrape. Exercise stimulates circulation at the cellular level to quickly supply your skin with all the nutrients that it needs. This means that if you are suffering from an acne blemish or scarring, your cellular turnover will be stimulated to regenerate your skin that much more quickly. At a basic level, this will keep your skin supple and strong to fight damage and premature aging. If you suffer from skin issues like acne or psoriasis, regular exercise will boost blood flow to heal the surface of your skin quicker.